Bullets take down No. 1 twice to reach semis

EMIGSVILLE - In order to get to the PIAA Class AA girls volleyball semifinals, Brandywine Heights had to beat the top team in the state - twice.

The Bullets, facing elimination, beat Hopewell 2-1 in the final match of round-robin play Friday at Central York High School. With both teams finishing with a 2-1 record, a one-game playoff was needed.

Brimming with confidence after taking out the Vikings the first time, Brandywine held back the Vikings 25-22 to make the state's final four again. Hopewell entered the postseason ranked first in Class AA by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association.

"(Winning that first match) affected both us and them," said Bullets senior Alexa Swann. "We came out and played. We wanted it because a lot of girls felt that this was it."

The Bullets opened with a 3-0 loss to Southern Lehigh - which won the pool - and came back to beat Holy Redeemer 3-0.

Brandywine will play West Allegheny, the winner of the other pool, in the semifinals today at 9:50 a.m. The semifinal winners meet for the state championship at 3:30 p.m.

Swann, a 6-2 middle hitter bound for Virginia Tech, had 66 kills for the day, including 34 against Hopewell. She literally had a tall order against the Vikings as they countered with their own sizable middle of Shatori Kimbrough and Courtney Kress.

Brandywine makes no secret where it's going on the attack. For a few years the Bullets have been daring opponents to double- and triple-team at the net.

"I do love it," Swann said. "Our team knows the sets will be in the middle and it's always a triple-block. It's always an opportunity."

However, Brandywine has been successful because it still has weapons when Swann rotates off the front. Hopewell tried to take advantage, but the Bullets held their own with great defense from Melissa Farley and Emily Seyler, who dug out serves and attacks. That let setter Cara Bradley get the ball to 5-6 middle hitter Sienna Heist, who ended with 33 kills, 17 against Hopewell.

"Sienna has improved greatly for us," Bullets coach Mike Pienta said. "For a short kid, she puts a lot of pressure on other teams."

Down 15-12 in the first game against Hopewell, Swann scored four consecutive kills to give the Bullets the lead. The Vikings took the sideout to tie it, but Bradley got the lead back with a kill of her own. Swann then went back to work and put the Bullets up 20-16.

Brandywine kept that lead as Heist finished it with another successful attack.

Hopewell, the District 7 champion, rallied to win the second game as Kress took control at the net.

The Bullets didn't lose confidence and came back strong in the third. Even though the Vikings rallied to tie at 10-10, Brandywine pulled ahead as Swann blunted Kress with a pair of blocks and the Bullets rolled from there.

In the playoff, Brandywine had the momentum and Hopewell looked shocked. Still, it was close and the Bullets didn't pull away until Emily Vaughan scored a key kill and Swann continued to dominate at the net.

"We were playing our best volleyball against Hopewell," Pienta said. "We started to pass the ball and played defense.

"We had a lots of highs and lows today. We started out bad and finished well. There are four teams left and anyone can win it."